Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Chrissy
By ten o'clock, Lake Mercury is officially awake.
Pontoon boats drift past the marina loaded down with coolers and sunscreen-slathered children. Somebody is already blasting country music loudly enough that I can hear it from halfway across the dock. The line outside Mercury Slice wraps around the side of the building already.
Summer in Mercury Ridge really is something.
I grew up on this lake, working at my uncle’s bait shop every summer as a kid, so most of it barely registers anymore—the noise, the crowds, the constant smell of sunscreen and gasoline and pizza crust baking together under the sun. It's just the background of my life from June through August.
What does register is the fact that Ace is standing at the end of the dock talking to a couple of the guys from the marina, looking entirely too pleased with himself. As always.
He's also looking in my direction. His eyes widen in surprise when he sees me through the window of Lake Mercury Bait & Tackle.
I immediately look away, but I know it’s too late. He’s spotted me.
"Well, look who it is,” my cousin Dani says beside me, following my line of sight. "Your new boyfriend."
"He's not my anything,” I mutter.
"Mm-hmm. Tell it to the court, sister.”
I busy myself straightening a row of tackle in a display case. "I mean it, Dani.”
"You kayaked with him at sunrise. That’s pretty damn romantic, if you ask me.”
I roll my eyes. “We were both exercising in the vicinity of each other. That’s all.”
“You’ve had a crush on Ace practically your whole life… and you’re finally old enough for him to notice you back. Don’t waste the opportunity.”
I sigh. There’s no arguing with her. The first time I noticed Ace, I was eleven years old.
He was sixteen or seventeen. All lean muscle, cockiness, and a charming but mischievous smile.
He tugged on one of my braided pigtails and that was it.
I fell right then—hook, line, and sinker.
When he left that day, I told Dani he was the guy I was going to marry someday.
And my cousin never forgets a thing.
Dani opens her mouth to say more just as the bell above the front door chimes.
Saved by the bell.
I paste on a smile, turning to look at the customer. Then I freeze. Because it’s Ace.
He moves toward us with a distinct swagger in his step. I try not to watch him approach, but my eyes betray me, taking in every inch of tall frame, broad shoulders, and sun-bronzed skin.
I hate how attractive it is.
But more than that, I hate how he knows how attractive he is.
Dani abandons me immediately, ducking into the bait cooler, which feels like a betrayal.
Ace braces his forearms against the counter and grins at me. "Didn’t think I’d find you so soon, Speed Racer.”
I keep straightening the rows of tackle. "Can I help you with something, Show Off?”
His grin widens like I've just given him a gift. "Just your name.”
“I told you my condition for that.”
“Ah,” he says, leaning closer so I have to make eye contact. Damn, his baby blues are pretty. “But I did beat you this morning. It was close, but I got to the marker first.”
“Please,” I scoff. “You were too busy peacocking to beat me to the marker.”
He laughs. "Since when does kayaking count as peacocking?”
I roll my eyes. “You’re always peacocking, no matter what you’re doing. You want people to look at you.”
His eyes drift meaningfully over my face. "It sounds like you’ve been looking without me knowing it, Speed Racer.”
Heat rushes into my cheeks fast enough to annoy me. "I’m working. So, if there’s nothing I can help you with…” I gesture toward the door.
The corner of his mouth twitches into a half smile. "Tell me your name.”
"Are you admitting I won this morning?”
He chuckles. "Absolutely not."
"Then I can’t help you.”
"If you don’t tell me your name, I’ll have no choice but to keep calling you Speed Racer.”
Dani pokes her head out of the walk-in cooler. “Her name is Chrissy!”
Ace laughs while I scowl at Dani. She grins and darts back inside.
"Chrissy,” Ace says slowly, dragging out the syllables.
Jesus, my name sounds good when he says it.
I clear my throat. "Congratulations. You know my name. Now you can stop bothering me."
A slow smile spreads across his face. “But am I really bothering you, Chrissy?”
The doorbell chimes again, and a couple of Ace’s friends walk in. I recognize his buddy Joel, and Joel’s pretty girlfriend, Rayna. The second Rayna notices me talking to Ace, her whole face lights up.
I suppress a groan. I recognize that look. It’s the look of a girl in love who wants everyone else to be in love too. I can practically see the gears turning her head as she figures out how to play matchmaker.
“Ready to eat, Ace?” Joel says, holding up a pizza box. “I’m starving.”
“Not so fast, Joel,” Rayna says. “Ace is clearly in the middle of something.”
“Actually,” I say quickly, “He was just leaving.”
Ace chuckles. “Chrissy is the kayaker I was telling you guys about.”
“Oh,” Joel says, raising an eyebrow. “I hear you’re fast.”
My skin flushes at the compliment. “Thanks.”
Rayna’s whole face lights up, like she’s just had the most brilliant idea ever. I can practically see a glowing light bulb above her head. “Isn’t your team short a relay racer?”
“Yeah,” says Joel. “Liam’s shoulder is still messed up, so we’re down a paddler.”
Ace explains the situation to me. “Every year, we participate in the kayak relay race, but our buddy Liam is injured. You’d be an excellent replacement.”
“I don’t know…” I say, my voice trailing off. But my heart kicks up a notch at the thought of participating in a real race.
"Come on, Chrissy,” he says, “you kept up with me this morning—”
“I beat you!”
Joel snorts loudly.
"They could really use your help,” Rayna says.
Ace’s eyes meet mine. “We really could.”
Dani returns from the cooler, and it’s immediately clear she’s been hanging on every word. “She’ll do it.”
“Dani!” I protest.
She rolls her eyes. “Stop protesting. You love racing.”
She’s not wrong. And I do miss competing. I love that feeling when your lungs burn and your muscles ache and your whole brain narrows down to nothing but movement and instinct and momentum.
I raced competitively for a couple of years in college. Then life happened. Work happened. Bills happened.
Ace tugs gently on my braid. “You know you’re dying for a rematch, Speed Racer. Maybe you’ll even beat me, if you practice enough.”
That does it. “I’ll beat you every time, Show Off.”
His grin flashes bright and immediate. "So that's a yes?"
"It's a maybe.”
“Practice is at four. Meet us at the kayak launch.”
I watch helplessly as he leaves the bait shop with Joel and Rayna.
God help me. I think I just joined his relay team.